


Dog Days

by trickydeepforest



Category: Glee
Genre: AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-19
Updated: 2017-05-19
Packaged: 2018-11-02 14:14:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10946223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trickydeepforest/pseuds/trickydeepforest
Summary: Written for the Klaine Prompt Reverse Bang.Kurt gets a summer job dogsitting Mrs. Anderson's prized Lowchens, and then one of her sons shows up for a surprise visit home.





	Dog Days

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to the mods at KPRB, for helping to keep the Klaine fics coming.
> 
> Amazing art by the talented [quizasvivamos](http://quizasvivamos.tumblr.com/)
> 
> And thanks again to my awesome beta [fearlessly](http://archiveofourown.org/users/fearlessly/pseuds/fearlessly), without whom you'd be reading some really awkward sentences.
> 
> Original prompt at the end.

[ ](http://s266.photobucket.com/user/sarie1210/media/indyandthedogsittercoverart_zpsg49nrm3l.jpg.html)

Sunlight was streaming through the two-story windows, Italian pottery was vibrating from the force of the sound system’s bass, and Kurt Hummel was dancing around the kitchen like an idiot. He wasn’t trying to impress anyone, didn’t care about the rules of rhythm and grace, and for once in his life there was not even the sliver of a chance that someone would walk in on him, so he let loose. He was celebrating after all. 

He couldn’t believe he’d scored this job. Looking after Mrs. Anderson’s four prized Lowchens for the occasional evening was awesome enough, but to get paid to stay in her house for weeks at a time? He felt like he should be paying her for the privilege.

Two of the dogs chased after him excitedly as he slid across the hardwood floors in his socks a la Tom Cruise in Risky Business, while the other two watched him judgmentally from across the room where they were resting on the couch. 

He was definitely adding an open-concept floor plan to his future house’s list of requirements.

When he had finally gotten enough of a workout, he took the time to unpack, hanging his clothes carefully in the guest room closet. He hadn’t brought enough clothes for the entire four weeks that he would be there, but he wasn’t very far from home, and would still be going there for Friday night dinners, at the very least. He didn’t have to spend every minute with the dogs. In fact, Mrs. Anderson had said he could even take some half-day shifts at the garage, so he’d be getting paid from both jobs at once. He would definitely be a lot closer to his goal by the end of the month.

After getting his toiletries situated and double checking that the dogs were all accounted for, he joined them on the couch and put his notebook and iPad on the coffee table in front of him. It was time to plan. There were recipes to decide on (to make full use of the state of the art kitchen) and movies to prioritize (to make full use of the bigger-than-big screen television).

When he’d finished his tentative schedule for the first week and compiled a grocery list, he decided to finally concede to the inevitable and explore the house. Mrs. Anderson had given him a quick tour after she’d hired him and he’s spent quite a few hours here already, evenings when she wouldn’t be home to take care of the dogs herself, but he’d never given into his curiosity to delve a little deeper, mostly due to the fear that his boss might come home earlier than expected.

Not that he was planning to pry into personal areas, really. He didn’t open medicine cabinets or her bureau drawers. He walked through the house, opening every door, just looking at the decor of each room, the general grandeur of the house.

He still couldn’t believe he was being paid (and paid well) to stay here. It was better than any hotel he’d ever been in. Sure, he had to take care of the dogs, but even with their grooming and training requirements, that didn’t take much of the day. He didn’t even have to walk them, they had their own fenced in area of the backyard.

He eventually ended up back in the living room, looking at the photos on the wall. There were photos of the dogs and their trophies (which he had seen in the display case in the study), pictures of Mrs. Anderson at lavish parties and exotic locations, and a few photos of her with one or both of her sons.

Kurt *may* have lingered longest on these. Both of her sons, while not looking very alike, were each gorgeous in their own way. The older one was taller with a movie star smile and bright blue eyes, while the younger one had a more compact frame, darker eyes and a more serious expression. In every photo of him as an adult, his hair was gelled down and he wore a vest, jacket and bow-tie, looking like a younger Indiana Jones. Didn’t Mrs. Anderson say he was a professor? While the style was a little stuffy for Kurt’s own tastes, the professor wore it well and Kurt could appreciate the urge to dress the part.

<><>

Blaine sighed as the taxi departed, and he was left alone in the driveway with luggage at his feet. He was beyond exhausted and didn’t look forward to hauling it all inside. He would have to do the unthinkable and make multiple trips. He ended up leaving them all inside the front door. He would carry them up to his room after a nap (or, more likely, 24 solid hours of sleep).

“Mom?” he called as he got further into the house without running into anyone. There was no answer but he could hear noise of some sort coming from upstairs. It was only the thought of his bed that powered him up the staircase. He looked longingly at his bedroom door as he continued to the master suite. If he didn't greet his mom first she would just wake him up in a few minutes anyway. Her bedroom door was open but the door to her bathroom was shut and he could hear the blow-dryer going. All four dogs were on the bed, wiggling their tails to see him but otherwise acting unperturbed at having a new person in the house. 

“You guys make lousy guard dogs,” he murmured, reaching out to pet the closest two. He had met them all once or twice but could never remember what their names were. He sat on the end of the bed to wait for his mother, hoping she was closer to the end of her beauty routine than the beginning. He resisted falling backwards on to the bed, not wanting to fall asleep for a few minutes and then have to get up again. Luckily it wasn’t that long before the bathroom door opened.

He stood up and got out “Hey, Mom,” before he came face to face with a young man dressed only in a towel. They both gaped at each other for a moment before Blaine’s stuttering thoughts decided to leak out of his mouth.

“Oh my God, you're not my mother. Why aren't you my mother?” He slammed his eyes shut.

“I'm going to assume you're aware of the biological and age-related answers to that question and say because your mom is currently on a beach in the Mediterranean.” The other boy’s voice was high and breathy with embarrassment, though Blaine had to give him credit for a coherent answer to a ridiculous question.

“She's not here and you are. Using her shower.” A new thought popped in his head and he opened his eyes to take in the boy's lithe figure and, frankly, gorgeous face. “Oh my God, please don't tell me you're her boyfriend. Has my mom turned into a cougar, picking up high school boys?”

The boy turned bright pink, the color spreading down his smooth chest. “What? No! I'm dog sitting!” He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “You know, your mom said you were a professor but I'm beginning to think you’ve either been lying to her or it's for one of those fake online universities.”

This time it was Blaine’s turn to blush. “I’m sorry. This is my brain after crossing six time zones and not being able to sleep on my flight at all.”

The boy shifted uncomfortably, holding his towel a little tighter. “Did your mom know you were coming? Because she didn’t mention it to me.”

“It was a last-minute thing. I sent her an email last night.” Blaine pulled out his phone to see if his mom had replied, only to see the email sitting there with the red “draft” marked on it. He sighed. “Except I never hit send. I'm sorry. Like I said, I'm jet-lagged and exhausted and frankly quite stupid right now. I'm just going to go…” he made a vague gesture towards his room, “and sleep for as long as I can.”

“Okay. I'll keep the dogs downstairs as much as I can.”

“Don't worry about it. Living with my mother taught me the value of a white noise machine. Goodnight.” Blaine gave him a tired smile, refused to think about what a ridiculous first impression he’d just made, and moments later was face down on his own bed fast asleep.

<><>

Kurt stared bemusedly at the door where one of Mrs. Anderson's sons had just vanished. He didn't remember the names she had told him and they hadn't gotten to actually introducing themselves during their awkward meeting. Kurt had just been staring at that handsome face in a photograph a few days ago, and now he was meeting him in the flesh. Quite literally, too, he realized, mortified to be nearly naked when the other man had been dressed so impeccably in his perfectly tailored shirt and vest. No one who had just traveled through six time zones should look so put together. 

His mind was whirling. How long was the son staying? Would he take over watching the dogs and send Kurt home? Would he tell Mrs. Anderson that Kurt was using the master shower when there was a perfectly comfortable, but not nearly as fabulous, shower in the guest room? He hurried down the hall to the guest room to get dressed, glad he had wrapped a towel around his waist instead of walking out of the bathroom naked. Thank God for ingrained habits.

He made sure the dogs followed him downstairs and sat on the couch with a huff. He looked at his lists with a grumpy sigh. Based on the amount of luggage by the front door, Professor Anderson wasn't leaving anytime soon. So much for having the huge house to himself. He started gathering his things that had already spread around the downstairs, putting them in a pile to take upstairs.

Later that day, Kurt cooked enough dinner for two, though he hadn’t heard a single noise from upstairs all day. He felt strange now, helping himself to the kitchen, but he had already bought the ingredients so he might as well use them. He didn't wait to eat but, when Blaine hadn't appeared even after he cooked dinner for the dogs and made sure they ate, he packed up the leftovers, wrote reheating directions on a post it and stuck it prominently to the fridge.

He went to bed early, buffered by warm little balls of fur, and fell asleep trying not to listen for the door down the hall.

The next morning there was a note on the counter- ‘Oh my God! Thank you! That was amazing!’ - and dirty dishes in the sink. He grumbled a little as he washed them up, then made himself breakfast and took it outside to eat on the patio as the dogs searched the backyard for any amazing new scents that may have appeared since last night. 

He spent a few hours at the garage and the rest of the day grooming, training and behaving as though he might be walked in on at any moment. He left more leftovers that night and the pattern repeated itself. It was almost as if he was the only person in the house, with the addition of a few more dirty dishes to wash. Even so, he couldn’t quite return to the feeling of freedom he’d experienced the first few days.

It wasn't until the third night that Kurt ran into the professor again. Kurt had woken up to incessant whining by his head and got up reluctantly to let the dogs out. There was a low light coming from the kitchen and after all the dogs were ushered outside, Kurt gave in to his long denied curiosity and wandered in. The professor was standing at the island, staring at a book on the counter while finishing up the last of the paella that Kurt had left for him. He looked up at the sound of Kurt clearing his throat.

“Oh, hi. You're up. Isn't it kind of late?” 

Kurt wondered if the other man was always so prone to stating the obvious. “Brewster needed to go out.”

“That sucks. Sorry. If I had heard him I'd have let him out instead of making you get up.”

Kurt shrugged. “It's fine. I'm 19. I think being up all night is supposed to be my natural state anyway. I just spend a lot of time trying to fight against it. I'm Kurt, by the way. We didn't really get around to the name portion of our introduction the other day.”

“I'm so sorry, of course. I'm Blaine. I'm afraid I have to blame jetlag and about a month's worth of sleep deprivation for my bad manners.”

They stood there staring at each other awkwardly for a moment. Kurt tried not to notice how cute Blaine looked in his tight t-shirt and thin cotton pajama pants, so different from his buttoned up professor look. Finally Kurt heard the dogs asking to come inside. When he returned, he figured he might as well take this opportunity to get a few answers. “If you don’t mind my asking, how long are you staying?”

“I'm not sure. Like I said before, this was a bit of a last minute thing. I was supposed to go stay with a, uh, friend for the summer, but we had a falling out, so for lack of anywhere else to go, I came here. I haven’t really taken time to consider my options. At least a month I think.”

Kurt asked the question he’d been dreading. “Do you want me to go? If you’re here all the time you really don't need me staying to take care of the dogs, or if you plan to keep sleeping all day I can just come by for a few hours in the afternoon to give them some exercise.”

“No, no, you don't have to leave. I'm not great at remembering to do things like feed or walk dogs or, you know, myself.” Blaine let out a self deprecating laugh. “I tend to get lost in my research when I don't have other obligations. Plus you keep leaving me these really fabulous dinners.” He placed the now empty dish in the sink. 

“Well if you get up earlier you could get breakfast and lunch as well,” Kurt said. Blaine looked at Kurt like he had just offered him his dream come true.

“Where on Earth did my mother find you?”

“Working at my dad's garage. Her car broke down and she had the dogs with her. I offered to entertain them while she was talking to my dad and then after chatting for awhile she said she was looking for a dog sitter. And here I am.”

“Well you just might see me in the sunlight tomorrow.” Blaine picked up his book and turned to leave. Kurt went to the sink and started the water to get it hot. He was reaching for the dish soap then jumped, not realizing Blaine had come up behind him.

“What are you doing?” Blaine’s chin was practically on Kurt’s shoulder. 

Kurt’s breathing picked up at the heat of the man behind him, not quite pressed up against him, but much closer than Kurt was used to another man being. “The dishes are easier to wash now before the food dries on them,” he said, his voice even higher than normal.

“Oh my God, you've been doing my dishes too.” Blaine’s head fell forward. Now it was resting on Kurt’s shoulder. Kurt tried not to hyperventilate. “I didn't even think. Mom usually has cleaning people here every day. Leave them, I’ll wash them up in the morning.”

“It's fine, Blaine. It's a chore I know well. Go get some sleep.” Blaine’s hands came to rest on Kurt’s hips for a fraction of a second, and then he murmured a good night and was gone. 

Kurt didn’t even realize he was holding his breath until it exploded out of him a few heartbeats later.

<><>

Blaine went through his morning routine as quickly as he could, considering he was still half asleep. He resolved to fix his sleep schedule so that it wasn't a herculean task to wake up before noon. Granted, he’d made that promise to himself about ten times since arriving at his mother’s house, but now that he had spent a little more time with Kurt, he found himself feeling more motivated.

Of course it didn’t help that he’d had such a hard time falling asleep last night. He hadn’t meant to stand so close to Kurt. It had just kind of happened, and then Blaine just...stayed. Kurt smelled really good. Had he really given into the temptation to grab Kurt’s hips? 

Blaine was eager to talk to Kurt again. _Maybe_ it was just the loneliness of only having his computer and online communication with colleagues for company since he got home. There was also the need to make up for how he’d inadvertently used Kurt as his housekeeper for several nights in a row, especially with Kurt being so kind as to volunteer to be his chef. Blaine was so intent on being quiet when he closed his bedroom door behind him and started down the hall that he didn't notice the small bundle of fur on the floor and almost face-planted. Catching himself with a banging hand on the wall, he gave a huffed breath of defeat at being stealthy. He bent to pick up the dog in apology and then his brain caught up to him: if the dog was out of the bedroom that probably meant that Kurt was too. Sure enough, when Blaine came within view of the kitchen there was Kurt, moving between the island and the stove as he flipped something in the pan and chopped up ingredients. Blaine’s regret at not being able to be the one to make breakfast for Kurt quickly faded into the background as he became distracted by the vision in front of him. 

Blaine realized he had never seen Kurt properly dressed before. He was a sight to appreciate in his skinny jeans and tight t-shirt, his hair once again swept up in a perfect coif.  
Blaine wasn't sure how long he was standing there before the dog in his arms wiggled to get free. He realized he was being creepy and, even worse, was being creepy within Kurt’s field of view if he turned his head. As the dog ran towards Kurt and caught his attention, Blaine used the moment to call out his own “good morning.”

Kurt looked at him with a smile. “I see you're taking me up on my breakfast offer.”

“Actually, I was going to return the favor and cook you breakfast, but apparently you get up at the break of dawn.”

Kurt leveled a mild glare at him. “It’s 8 a.m., Blaine. I can't get everything done if I sleep till noon.”

“So what are your big important plans for the day? Don’t tell me taking care of my mom’s dogs requires you to wake up so early.” Part of Blaine wanted that to be true. He wanted Kurt to be at the house, and possibly in his company, for most of the day. 

“No, no,” Kurt waved a hand, and Blaine was so distracted by how elegantly Kurt made such a simple movement that he almost missed the rest of what Kurt said. “Except for being around to let them out, I just have to groom them and put them through their paces a few times. All in all, it takes about two hours. In the meantime, I have lunch and dinner to make, a movie to watch, a pool to take advantage of, and your mom said I could set up my sewing machine in her craft room. I have some projects that will benefit from all the extra table space she has in there.”

Blaine blinked, not expecting quite so thorough of an answer. “Well, that does sound like a full day.”

Kurt scoffed. “That’s only half the day. I have somewhere to be this evening.”

Blaine forced down his disappointment, and focused on the positives. Kurt would be around most of the day. “What movie are you watching today?”

“I’m thinking of Sabrina. Would you like to join me? We could eat lunch while we watch,” Kurt’s voice was eager, and then he seemed to catch himself and said more hesitantly, “If you’re not too busy, that is.”

Blaine opened his mouth to say he was too busy. It was practically an involuntary reaction to almost any invitation that wasn’t work related. But this time he stopped himself. Was he really too busy? Nothing he did was really time sensitive. He didn’t run a multi billion dollar company or anything. Kurt said he was going out this evening, so Blaine could get some work done then. “I would love to watch Sabrina with you . I haven’t seen it since high school. Can I help you with lunch?”

“If you’d like,” Kurt said happily. “I’m going to go work with the dogs for a little while. I’ll see you shortly.”

“Absolutely. Just come find me if I’m not around when you’re ready to start.”

Blaine tried to catch up on the emails that had come in since last night, taking time to give thorough and well thought out responses, but his mind wasn’t as efficient as it normally was. He couldn’t keep his thoughts off of Kurt. Was this a crush? He hadn’t really had one since high school, being too busy in college and with his career to do more than indulge in the occasional hook up or colleagues-with-benefits arrangement when the opportunity presented itself. 

It was probably best to just face the truth head on. He was physically drawn to Kurt. The question was, what was he going to do about it?

He let his head fall back in defeat. Nothing, was the only appropriate answer. 

<><>

Kurt tried to keep his mind on the dogs and nothing but the dogs. He was being paid to do a job after all, not to flirt with his boss’s son. And while he was an accomplished multi tasker, some things warranted his full attention. The dogs’ training for one,

Testing out the waters with Blaine, for another. 

Speaking of water, he wondered if he could entice Blaine into the pool with him. Pool time seemed like prime flirting opportunity, if teen rom coms could be trusted. He knew Finn and Puck had always looked for ways to spend time at the pool with girls. Plus, Blaine had already seen him half unclothed, so it would be only fair if Blaine walked around with no shirt on.

Kurt took a moment to laugh at himself. He wasn’t much of a flirter, having little to no experience with it in high school, not counting the cringe worthy attempts at flirting with Finn before they became step brothers. He’d done some light flirting with some store clerks and waiters in the year since, but nothing beyond a few minutes of conversation. And certainly nothing involving physical contact. He’d never been so aware of someone else’s presence in relation to his own body before. He couldn’t believe he was sitting here trying to think of how to lure Blaine into going swimming. If they were both shirtless right now, Kurt probably wouldn’t even be able to look in Blaine’s direction without turning beet red and swallowing his own tongue.

For now, lunch and a movie would have to do. There was time to see how things progressed after that.

After finishing up with the dogs, he did some laps in the pool, then took a shower (in the guest room shower this time) and spent maybe a little longer than normal restyling his hair.

He knocked on Blaine’s door on his way back downstairs, sticking his head in the room after being greeted with a distracted sounding “Come in”.

“Hey, I’m heading down to start lunch, if your offer to help still stands,” he said, as Blaine blinked owlishly at him from behind a stack of books and papers. Wasn’t everything in the world computerized by now? Did Blaine bring all those books in his suitcases?

“Oh, um, sure. Just give me a few minutes.” Blaine’s tone wasn’t too enthusiastic, and Kurt bristled at being made to feel demanding, when Blaine was the one who offered.

“If you’re in the middle of something, just forget it. I’ve cooked every other meal without your help, I can handle this one too.” He knew he sounded defensive, but he couldn’t help it. He’d been eager to get back to Blaine’s company, and apparently Blaine felt the opposite.

He pulled the door shut without another word, gathered his fluffy white troops, and went down to the kitchen, where he could take his frustration out on some uncomplaining salad ingredients.

<><>

Blaine crept out of his bedroom about twenty minutes later, feeling like an ass. He’d been trying so hard to not think about Kurt that he’d fallen a little too deep down the research hole and completely forgotten about helping Kurt make lunch. Yes, he’d decided it was best to avoid any sort of physical relationship, but he didn’t want to make Kurt hate him. He still hoped they could be friends and spend some time together when Blaine remembered to look up from his work.

When he got to the kitchen he saw that Kurt was almost done, with one plate fully loaded with a grilled sandwich of some sort and a large portion of salad. The other sandwich was currently sitting on a piece of tinfoil, and Kurt was in the middle of putting the rest of the salad into a Tupperware container.

“Hey,” Blaine said quietly when Kurt didn’t acknowledge his presence.

Kurt looked up with a frown. “Oh, were you going to eat now? I was wrapping this up for you to eat later.”

“I, uh, thought we were going to eat and watch the movie.”

Kurt shrugged, not maintaining eye contact. “Once I realized that offering to help with lunch had been an empty gesture, I figured the movie was more of the same.”

Blaine cringed. “I’m so sorry, Kurt. I didn’t mean to back out on my offer. Sometimes when I’m in the middle of a project, I get so deep that I lose track of everything else.”

“It’s fine Blaine. Go back to your work. I didn’t mean to distract you,” Kurt said with false cheer, and Blaine knew that his apology had had no effect on the damage he’d done. He gently caught Kurt’s arm as the other boy tried to pass him. Startled, Kurt turned his head and suddenly their faces were inches apart. Blaine forgot what he was going to say for a few seconds. Goddamn, Kurt was beautiful.

“Kurt, I swear, I really want to watch a movie with you. It’s been a long time since I’ve been around anyone but other academics, and I think I’m a little rusty on the rules of how to be a friend instead of a member of a pack of research obsessed colleagues.” Blaine’s thumb was rubbing Kurt’s arm, and when did that start?

Kurt searched Blaine’s eyes for a few silent moments, and Blaine wondered what he saw there. Kurt opened his mouth to speak, and then they both jumped as Kurt’s phone started playing music.

“Excuse me,” Kurt said softly, and answered his phone with a cheery “Hey!” Blaine just stood there and watched as Kurt wandered into the next room, before going to get a plate and moving his sandwich and salad onto it. And if after that he lingered close to the doorway through which Kurt had disappeared, well, he couldn’t seem to help himself.

“So date night is on? I’m so excited! You’ve planned something super romantic, right?” Blaine heard the deep tones of another man say something that Blaine couldn’t make out, and Kurt responded with a squeal of delight. “That sounds awesome! Ok, I’ll see you later. Bye!”

Blaine hurried back to his plate and stared down at it in a daze. Kurt had a boyfriend? Had Blaine been deluding himself into thinking that this strong physical attraction he felt went both ways?

Kurt walked back into the kitchen and picked up his plate and a glass of water from the island. “I’m going in to start the movie. You’re welcome to join me if you’d like to.” Kurt’s voice had a hint of coyness to it. Or was Blaine imagining that. 

He was definitely going crazy. 

Blaine sat down with Kurt right as the movie started. He pushed a few reluctant dogs aside so that he could sit on the couch next to Kurt. They ate in relative silence, with the occasional comment from Kurt on the outfits or manners displayed in the movie. Blaine wanted to join in, but he was hyper aware of Kurt’s proximity and his own feelings of attraction. Once they were done eating and he had nothing else to distract him, he spent more time sneaking glances at Kurt’s profile than he spent watching the movie. 

Finally he could stand it no longer, though he chickened out on a direct question. “Kurt,” he said quietly. “Are we still on for dinner tonight?” 

Kurt turned to him with a small, surprised smile. “Ah, that depends on what time you want to eat. I have to go cover a shift at my dad’s garage for a couple of hours. It’s my stepmom’s birthday, so Dad’s leaving work early for their big da-”

Blaine launched himself sideways and cut Kurt off with a kiss. Kurt let out a surprised squeak, but only took seconds to join in. Within moments they were practically laying on the couch, with Blaine on top. Luckily the dogs had moved in a hurry, so they weren’t squashing any beneath them. Luckily the dogs had moved in a hurry, so they weren’t squashing any beneath them.

At first Blaine’s hands were almost frantic, wanting to touch Kurt everywhere, but once his mind accepted that this was actually happening, he was able to focus more. He ran a hand up Kurt’s long neck, cupping his jaw, while he used the other one to leverage himself off of Kurt. Not only did Kurt need to breath, but Blaine was getting hard with unusual speed, and he didn’t want to accidentally grind himself into Kurt. 

It was quite a while before they separated enough for Blaine to get a few words out. “This is ok, right? I mean, I know you technically work for my mother, I just want to make sure-”

Kurt gave a frustrated groan and smashed their lips back together. 

Blaine would never have thought that he’d be perfectly content to kiss someone for hours. If it wasn’t for the dogs whining to go outside, and then clearly trying to lead Kurt to bed, they might have stayed up all night just kissing.

The next morning when Blaine came downstairs, he was not surprised to find Kurt in the kitchen again. When his “good morning” was greeted with a smile, Blaine wasted no time in following it up with a kiss. 

Kurt kissed him back for a few seconds and then gently pushed him away. “Uh uh, mister. I’m not wasting all this effort by getting distracted and burning breakfast. Don’t you pout at me,” he added, pointing his spatula at Blaine.

“Oh, all right, I’ll be good. I’ll sit over here.” Blaine sat at the table. “We can talk. There’s an awful lot we don’t know about each other.”

Kurt beamed at him. “Oh, good idea! We can take turns asking questions. I’ll go first. How old are you?”

“Twenty-eight, “ Blaine said with just a hint of apprehension. Would Kurt think that was too old? But Kurt showed no sign of being distressed at Blaine’s answer, so Blaine followed it up with a question of his own. “Do you go to school around here?”

“Nope. Well, I mean, I went to high school locally, but I haven’t decided where I’m going to college yet.”

Blaine looked at him in confusion. “Wouldn’t you have had to officially give your decision already?

“If I was planning to go this fall, sure, but I’m taking this year off. Actually I took last year off as well, for family reasons, but this year I’m planning to do some traveling and explore my options before I settle on a career choice.” Kurt’s voice was so nonchalant about issues that Blaine had always seen as close to life-or-death serious.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? Don’t most people who take a few years off never end up going back? And you’ll fall out of the practice of studying and research.” 

Kurt’s brow furrowed. “Blaine. I’m not going to med school. It’s not that I’m not passionate about anything, it’s that I have too many passions. I will be going to college and I’ll be a success at what I choose to do, because I’m stubborn like that. But there are other things in life I want to experience before I focus on that. And I want to figure out which path I want to pursue, rather than start one and regret it. ”

Blaine had to force himself not to argue further. Everything Kurt had said made sense, and yet was so alien to Blaine’s experience. He took a few deep breaths. “What majors are you considering?”

“Oh no, it’s my turn. I know you’re a professor, but a professor of what?” Kurt took the pan off the burner, slipped some omelet onto each plate, then came and sat on Blaine’s lap with a kiss. 

“Linguistics. I’ve had a passion for languages since I was a kid, and in undergrad I became obsessed with this one ancient language. There was this one subset of written documents that scholars had been arguing over the translations of for years, and while I was studying them I realized that they were actually in a slightly different dialect than the rest, and over the course of a few years I worked it out. You see, there was this…” Blaine went into detail for a few minutes, but he eventually realized that Kurt wasn’t really listening anymore, but was just staring at his mouth. This was further confirmed when he trailed off mid sentence, and Kurt took the opportunity to kiss him.

It was quite a while before they remembered breakfast.

After a similar incident at lunch, Kurt declared that they had to maintain at least five feet between them until after they’d eaten their food. 

By dinner they abandoned that plan and ordered out.

<><>

[ ](http://s266.photobucket.com/user/sarie1210/media/indyandthedogsitter_zps0fr0xa3p.jpg.html)

They fell into a routine pretty quickly. They’d eat breakfast together and spend a little while making out, then Blaine would work until Kurt finished the dogs’ training for the day. Kurt would swim, which Blaine would sometimes join him for. After that was lunch and a movie that rarely got watched for longer than it took to eat their food. 

In the afternoons Kurt usually went to work at the garage while Blaine got back to his research, and then they either cooked dinner together or ordered in, depending on whether they could keep their hands of off each other that long.

Kurt felt like he’d entered some kind of parallel universe. If he thought staying in the house was surreal enough, now he was sharing it with a gorgeous, well mannered, well dressed, intelligent man who seemed to honestly like him. Kurt was more used to people tolerating his differences, but Blaine found all of Kurt’s interests fascinating, or at the very least amusing in a non-patronizing way. 

And then there was all the kissing and making out. 

Kurt never knew physical attraction could be like this. A constant need to be close to and touching the other person. A near obsession with their lips and hands. 

They hadn’t had sex yet, not in any definition of the term. Kurt wasn’t quite sure what they were waiting for, but they had time.

Although that was one thing that neither of them brought up. There was a predetermined end date to their relationship and neither of them were mentioning it. Did Blaine see this as just a summer fling? Something fun to do for a few weeks? 

Kurt wasn’t even sure how he felt about it. He’d been avoiding asking Blaine a pretty big question - what university did he work at? If it was in one of the cities that Kurt was considering for school, would it be too crazy to let that influence his choice so they could stay together? Would Blaine even want him to?

Sometimes Kurt couldn’t sleep because of all these questions rolling around in his head. They’d only known each other for a couple of weeks, and yet…

Blaine was everything that Kurt could want in a boyfriend. He checked off boxes that Kurt didn’t even know he had. If they didn’t stay together, Kurt’s bar for future relationships was going to be set almost impossibly high. 

However things worked out, he was glad to have Blaine as his first boyfriend He had wanted to spend this year figuring out what he wanted in life, and even if he didn’t get to keep Blaine long term, he at least knew how he wanted to be treated in a relationship.

The next step was to finish figuring out how he wanted to be treated in bed. Which was why he suggested they move on to blow jobs the next morning, during their regular make out session. And if he skipped one day of training the dogs in the entire month, he figured they’d be ok.

His dog sitting stint was soon coming to an end, and Kurt suddenly realized that they hadn’t even talked about the rest of the summer. Kurt had taken Blaine’s estimate of staying about a month and had it settled in his mind that Blaine would be leaving soon after his mom got home. But Blaine showed no signs of getting ready to travel soon. He hadn’t mentioned a word about his plans for the upcoming weeks. Maybe he was sticking around to visit with his mom, and Kurt would get to see him for a while longer. 

And yet, he couldn’t quite bring himself to come right out and ask. If the answer wasn’t what he wanted to hear, it would color the rest of their brief time bittersweet. Better to live in denial, Kurt thought, and deal with the pain when he had to.

<><>

Blaine stared at the email in front of him and felt like he had swallowed a rock. One of his mentors had invited him to stay at his summer place, hinting that they could work on a new book together. But Blaine would have to leave in a week, a couple of days after his mom came home. And while he had been hoping a new opportunity would present itself so that he could feel productive this summer,that had been before Kurt. 

He could practically hear his dad’s lecture, that he should never throw away such a great opportunity, that relationships came and went, and should never be a priority over his career. “How do you want the world to remember you? As someone who made an impact, or as someone who ate dinner with the same person every night?”

And while in his heart, he knew that his dad was a cold person, and that finding love didn’t have to be something that tied him down, he’d never actually met anyone who made him feel like actively challenging his dad’s beliefs. 

Until now. Until Kurt.

The thought of disappointing his mentor, of disappointing his dad, made him twitchy and nervous. The thought of leaving Kurt, even a day before he had to, made him want to vomit. 

But even if Blaine stayed until the end of the summer, what then? He was teaching in Paris in the fall, and then moving on like he always did. Even if Kurt wasn’t going to college this year, he would be soon, and that would mean that he’d be in one place for at least four years. And Kurt was so young. He didn’t want to tie himself to a major yet, what made Blaine think he’d want to tie himself to one person?

Well, he didn’t have to make a decision quite yet. He had a few days. He would talk to Kurt, even if it meant breaking their little bubble of happiness.

When he came down for breakfast the next morning, he was so preoccupied that it took him a few moments to realize that Kurt was also acting a little strangely. He seemed nervous. Blaine caught his hand as he walked by and pulled him into his lap.

“What’s going on? You seem to have something on your mind.”

Kurt sagged against him, tucking his head against Blaine’s shoulder.

“You know how some things seem like such a good idea at night and then the next morning you realize that it’s actually a terrible idea?”

“I know exactly what you mean. I do the majority of my writing at night, but I learned a long time ago to always re-read it in the morning. Sometimes the brain gets a passion for a tangent that just seems crazy when you wake up.”

“Well, I had an idea of something to do today, and I was so eager to do it last night, but now I think I’ve talked myself out of it.” Kurt sounded defeated, and Blaine didn’t like it.

“If you don’t mind my asking, what was the idea?”

Kurt fiddled with Blaine’s sleeve. “I was going to drive to Columbus to attend an open casting call for a community theater play.”

“That sounds like a great plan! Why did you decide it wasn’t?”

“It’s a production of West Side Story. I didn’t have a very good experience with that play in school a couple of years ago. I’m not really the right type for the parts.”

“Have you ever done community theater before?”

“No, that’s why I considered trying out. I want to see if acting on stage is something I want to pursue for my career.”

“Well, as I’ve mentioned, my brother is an actor, and I know that auditioning is a huge part of the life. Maybe they won’t cast you, but you can at least get some experience with the auditioning process, right? Find out if that’s going to be something you’re willing to do, possibly hundreds of times?”

Kurt huffed in amusement. “Really? Hundreds of times? While I’m glad that you’re not giving me the standard ‘of course you’ll get a part, you can do anything if you want it badly enough’ routine, I think you may have swung too far in the other direction.”

Blaine laughed. “Okay, I have _some_ insight into that world, but my brother’s a pretty bad actor, so your reality may be rather different than his. All I know is that the casting directors in Hollywood can be really brutal when they’re telling you why you’re not right for a part. You have to have really thick skin, or an all consuming passion for the work.”

“Which one does your brother have?”

Blaine tipped his head in concession. “Actually, neither. Cooper has an all consuming passion for fame and recognition, and instead of thick skin he has a really thick skull. He can take the most blatant insult and turn it into something positive about himself. That’s his superpower.”

“Well, thank you very much for the advice. I think I’m going to take it.” Kurt smiled at him and leaned in for a kiss.

Blaine was filled with a sudden disappointment that Kurt wasn’t going to be around for most of the day, and words came out of his mouth without a conscious decision to say them. “Hey, I have some errands to run in Columbus myself, do you want me to drive with you?”

Kurt beamed a smile at him that was worth any amount of inconvenience his impulsive offer could possibly cause him. “That would be awesome! I don’t usually go to the city by myself, so I was really nervous about getting lost.”

“Don’t you have GPS? I thought everyone relied on a magical, disembodied voice telling them where to turn, nowadays.”

Kurt actually blushed. “I may have a history of getting distracted by practicing my accent every time the British woman on my Garmin speaks and then missing my turns.”

Blaine laughed at him in fond amusement. “Glad to be of service then.” 

<><>

As it turned out, it wasn’t Kurt’s British accent that would cause them to take a wrong turn, it was his singing voice. Blaine found it very distracting. Luckily it happened right in their neighborhood, so the correction was not time consuming. 

<><>

At first the conversation centered around music. Kurt asked Blaine about his favorite songs, and upon hearing that he was still pretty stuck on the groups he listened to back in high school, Kurt started scrolling through his music library on his phone, making Blaine listen to song after song, then grilling him on his opinion, so that he could better cater to Blaine’s taste. 

Eventually, Kurt realized that it was probably time to bite the bullet and start the conversation that could end everything. 

“So, Blaine,” he started, trying to be nonchalant and failing miserably. “I’ve never actually asked you, what university do you teach at?”

Blaine glanced over at him, and Kurt could see nervousness in his eyes. “I actually don’t have a permanent position. There’s been so much interest in my methods that I travel as a visiting professor, usually a semester at each place. That’s why I’m staying at my mother’s house for break. I don’t have a home base of my own right now.”

“So tell me about some of the cities you’ve been to. Do you get to travel all over the country?”

“Actually, all over the world is more accurate. I just finished up a semester in London.”

“Oh my god! London? Was it fabulous? Did you see the Queen? Tell me all about Buckingham Palace. Oh, did you go to the place where they filmed Downton Abbey? Or Pride and Prejudice?” Kurt was practically bouncing in his seat.

“Uh, none of the above? I tend to get really involved in my work. I don’t get out as often as I should. I’ve been to a few restaurants for dinner meetings.”

Kurt stared at him in disbelief. “You spent a semester in London and you _went out to dinner a few times_?”

“Um, yeah. I always mean to get out more, but between my colleagues and students and mentors, there are a lot of people asking for my time.”

“So let me get this straight. You’re not just traveling all over the world, you’re actually moving a few times a year. And then when you get there, you barely leave your office? What’s the point? You’re getting all the hassle and none of the rewards.” Kurt was starting to get angry, and he tried not to yell at Blaine, but it was hard. Blaine practically had Kurt’s dream life, and he was wasting it. 

“Well, I meet a lot of new people, make a lot of connections… and my career is important to me. You do what you have to do to establish yourself.” Blaine’s voice was defensive, and Kurt regretted starting this conversation.

Underneath the anger his heart felt like it was breaking. If Blaine was that busy during the school year, it was hard to imagine he’d have any time for Kurt, or even want him there at all.

“There’s more to life than your career. Don’t you want to live a little?” Kurt wanted to beg Blaine to agree with him, but apparently was yelling at him instead.

Blaine met Kurt’s angry glare with one of his own. “Kurt. You’re nineteen. You’re a dog sitter. You have no idea what it takes to be a success. Sometimes there are sacrifices that have to be made.”

“Being a success is not the only thing in life, Blaine. One day you’ll look up and all the people you care about will be gone, either through tragedy or neglect. What the hell will your success mean then?’ Kurt spat at him.

Blaine cranked the music up and stared straight ahead. Kurt looked out the window and let the tears roll down his face.

<><>

They arrived in Columbus almost an hour later. Neither of them had spoken another word, though Blaine had heard Kurt sniffling a few times. He felt like shit. He hadn’t meant to blow up at Kurt, but the offer in his email had been weighing on him all day, combined with the worry that things with Kurt would end as soon as he had to leave, whether it was next week or next month.

After he parked the car they sat in silence for a few minutes. Blaine knew he had to fix this, if for no other reason than so Kurt would be in the right frame of mind to audition.

“Kurt. I’m sorry that I got so defensive. I love my work, and I don’t regret my career at all. But I’m starting to realize that a lot of what I’ve done in my career was done to get the approval of other people. My father, my mentors. And even though I can see it now, it’s a hard thing to stop. I don’t like feeling as though I’m disappointing people.”

Kurt had turned to look at him, and fresh tears gathered in his eyes. “And I’m sorry that I overstepped. But I have a few things to tell you.” He looked down at his hands. “When we were seniors, my brother and I thought we’d had our whole lives worked out. We both only applied to our dream schools. But neither of us got in, and it felt like our lives were over. I, in particular, was crushed. Finn rebounded faster, and in an effort to cheer me up, starting talking about all the things we could do now that we weren’t tied to classes. The more we talked about it, the more we decided that it was a good idea to do some traveling, and have some life experiences, before we decided on our career paths.

“We’d lived in that one small town all of our lives, and there was so much that we had never done. We decided that we’d save money for a year, and then travel for a year, and then buckle down after that.” Tears fell onto Kurt’s hands as he took a few shuddering breaths.. 

Blaine reached out and took one of Kurt’s hands, giving him a moment to collect himself.

“And then Finn died. And he never got to experience any of those things that he was so excited for. And I’ve been working so hard to be able to go some of the places he would want me to go, and to hear that you’ve been to so many places but haven’t really enjoyed them.” Kurt took a deep breath. “Which is not something that I should get angry at you for. Obviously that’s not important to you. And that’s fine. But I was hoping that there was room in your life for me, when you’re back to your real life, and it doesn’t sound like there is.” And with that, Kurt began to sob.

Blaine had never been so glad for his mom’s roomy SUV. He slid out from behind the steering wheel and pulled Kurt to him, gathering him in his arms as much as possible.

“Kurt, I’m so sorry about your brother. You must have been so devastated. And you’re so strong, to continue with your plan like he’d want you to.” Blaine kissed Kurt’s cheek and held him until Kurt had stopped crying. Then he tipped Kurt’s chin up until their eyes met. “You make me want to see all the amazing places in the world. You make me see how empty my life was before, when all I had to hold on to was work.” He kissed Kurt, deeply, almost desperately. 

“How does this sound? I’ll stay with my mom the rest of the summer. I owe her a long visit anyway. And in the fall, when you’re traveling and you get to Paris, you can stay with me. You can explore the city during the week while I work, and on the weekends you can show me your favorite parts of Europe. And if we’re still together when it’s time for you to go to school, well, there are a few places that have offered me a permanent position. 

Kurt stared at him with wide, shocked eyes before his face broke into the biggest smile Blaine had ever seen. “You think we can make this work?”

“Well, we’re both pretty good at committing to the things we’re passionate about. I think that as long as we both want this, there’s nothing that can stop us.”

“We _are_ both pretty stubborn. Well then sir, I will accept your proposition of a date in Paris this fall. Now I’m going to go in there and completely blow this audition, because I don’t think I keep this smile off my face for longer than two seconds.” After another kiss, Kurt was gone and Blaine pulled out his phone to send an email declining his mentor’s invitation. 

And then he sent a thank you email to his mother, because she had awesome taste in dog sitters.

**Author's Note:**

> Based on this prompt: Kurt, needing money to fond his bargain hunting, is looking for second job besides helping in his father’s garage. 
> 
> He finds what he thinks is the ideal job. He is to be the nanny/dogsitter for Mrs Anderson’s two prized Lowchen dogs. He is going to take care of them the nights she gets off late from work, and when she needs to travel, he is to stay in the guest room of her very classy home to keep the dogs company. 
> 
> It is a morning at Mrs Anderson’s house the first time he finds himself face to face with Indiana Jones. Well, not the Indiana Jones but a guy who dresses like him – three-piece suit and bowtie. And it turns out he – one of Mrs. Anderson’s sons - is a professor and travels the globe like Indy (except for the fighting bad guys with a whip part). 
> 
> After Blaine had finished his PhD in history it had been published. He had been taken by surprise by the interest in it. For years now, he has constantly travelled from university to university as a guest lecturer – writing books when he can, and he loves it. He has not found an incentive to look for a permanent position yet.
> 
> Age difference.


End file.
